During a raid
by Pandinos
Summary: Shepard, Alenko and Wrex come upon some slavers during a raid.Shepard and Alenko have an interesting conversation. If you are the caring,politically corret,paragon,etc type, don't read this,unless you want to read something that is at least controversial.


The angry sound of shrapnel whizzed past my ear, another grenade going off.I raised my head a bit to get a better view of what was happening, but a sniper reminded me of the mortality of shot wasn't very accurate, but it did drain my shields and tore a hole in the armor of my left arm.

The picture i got though was revealing: Wrex smashed someone's head in with his elbow, while Alenko skillfully(and somewhat sadistically) guided some poor bastard toward a fuel tank and a hidden tech 't know he had it in him... unless it's Wrex's influence over him... who knows? He kills our enemies, in a rather entertaining way, but i'd really wish they'd stop playing with biotics, grenades and our last foes when he and Wrex get bored... Not that i care, but i can't join, since i can't use lift let's stop daydreaming, and focus.I can feel my muscles tense and the protective shroud of a biotic barrier covers comes the pain.

Two shotgun blasts later, and a pirate is without a lower left leg and a face, so i sprint to the next point of cover some 5 meters the distance i hear Alenko shouting ''ball time'', and since i know what that means, i turn to see most of the remaining pirates, up in the air, drifting slowly toward each other and some the explosion, we each pick a survivor and biotically throw them toward another fuell tank and yet more grenades, tech mines, and Wrex's assault are more or less done here.

''Wrex, finish the wounded. Alenko, look through their files and see if you can find something usefull.'' i tell them, though they both know the drill.

I wander around, to check the place out a bit. It is rather big and in a good spot so maybe the Alliance will want to use it as a base.I'll send them the coordinates when we're on the Normandy again.

Someone is banging on a door to my left. I creep up and try to listen, since the others are too far away to come quickly enough. I can hear an asari, and perhaps even a turian... slaves? This is getting better by the minute. When the door opens, i come upon a pathetic mixture of races, mostly humans though, all begging to get out of there, all branded, and all showing severe red sand withdrawl symptoms. I hand three grenades, prime them, toss them in the room and shut the door.

After the explosion, i hear both Wrex and Alenko

''Are you ok Commander?''

Surprisingly both sounded worried.

''I'm all right, just got rid of some slaves'' i reply casually

''Um, slaves sir? '' Alenko's question is reflective, i can almost see his revolted and surprised expression. I answer in the most blunt way possible

'' Yes, Sand slaves.''

''Wrex, head toward the entrance and let none leave untill i get there'' This is getting serious.

''Understood'' was his reply.

Alenko is seaching their files and Wrex will guard the gate, so i'm alone to do a bit of thing i learned at Torfan is that slavers always have safe spots built inside their place, to hide themselves or their merchandise.

''Permission to speak freely sir'' Alenko again...

''Go ahead'' i know what he'll ask but i want to hear it nonetheless.

''Why did you kill them?'' Poor Kaidan, he needs to justify everything.

''Because they are slaves, and not a regular kind of slaves but spineless bastards who got addicted to Red Sand, and allowed their addiction to get them sold to slavery'' I answer as directly as possible, no reason to play nice.

''Is that what you did at Torfan?'' He asks about Torfan like he knows anything..

'' slaves there were raid captives, so we freed those we could''I answer after a brief pause, and when i find a safe spot i continue

''Though we killed those whom the slavers were using as shields''

''What?!!'' poor Alenko he has no idea who his CO is.I must admit i enjoy his his fear

''Alenko, i grew up as a biotic ''freak'' and an orphan on earth.I had to run with a gang to you did was get hauled to BAaT.I had to be ruthless and learn how to me, that meant being absolutely ruthless, even for a gang's standards, and learning how to play with other's fears improved my chances of living another day'' .Before i can continue he interrupts me.

''Sir you must come here,hostages'' Alenko is almost too frustrated to even try to keep his voice tone the normal calm, impassive it usually is.

''On my way, any batarians there?'' i reply HAS become serious after all

''The slavers''Kaidan sounds almost excited, as if he's anticipating the outcome.

Here we go again... looks like batarians and humans have a common trait, them too stupid to know they've lost.

''Detain them. Wrex, head there and help if necessary''I almost bark the order at the intercom.

A few minutes later i'm ten slaves, rigged with explosives and four armed batarians.I'm out of grenades so i guess this will be done the hard way.

Suddenly, as i approach, the batarians execute their slaves and one of them steps is starting to get interesting

''Commander Shepard, , is that a synonym for butcher in your tongue? Because i gather you got the promotion by paying for it with batarian blood'' he asks, his voice barely continaining the venom he puts into his Batarians can't spit poison or he would have killed us all.

''And is idiot a synonym for slaver in batarian? Because last time your kind tried that sort of thing .. we both know what happened at Torfan'' My reply is almost a snarl, as i see him in front of me, images of the fight at Torfan pass momentarily through my head.I can feel the darkness of the corridors calling to me, telling me to destroy them all. Not now. Focus.

''You may not know it but i am a survivor from Torfan'' His mocking tone is making this almost too much to ?? Impossible! I was absolutely thorough..

''Of course i wasn't in the base, i had gone to our homeworld to make arrangements, when i learned that all my loved ones, all my friends, were killed in an Alliance assault led by a human named Shepard'' he continues bitterly.

''So now that you have found me what do you want? Revenge?'' i stare at him as i speak, trying to judge his intentions.

''No, i've had my revenge on the families of your i want is your head, to show to the families of those you killed'' His answer comes at a most self-satisfied tone,i'm sure he savors the memory.

''What do you mean you've had your revenge?'' I can't help but sound as surprised as i . That wothless bag of flesh will soon see what revenge is.

He continues in that same satisfied tone

''Oh, it's simple. I've enslaved their families and those of your soldiers i could, the rest of course i killed. And now it's your turn to di-''

''DIE!!'' i can hear myself screaming as i biotically throw them to the wall. At this range they'll be out cold for some time. Good.

''Alenko, find the ship they are using and set it on autopilot. Plot a course for the batarian home world and make sure that as soon as it is checked by a batarian ship it starts sending a distress call.

''Wrex, make a thorough sweep of the place. Gather all you think might be of use. Kill all you encounter'' I order in a way that most, if not all soldiers wouldn't dare to question ''What? You are getting like Saren Commander''But not Wrex of course.

''No, Wrex,i am human which means i can be far worse than Saren''

Wrex leaves, and Alenko stares a bit before heading to prepare the all four are chained to the wall, with their leader securely strapped to a table, having a clear view of the other three. Time to wake them up. The Warp power does wonders when used in inventive ways. The first wakes up screaming in terror and his screams wake the others. As they are all terrified and confused i cut off his arms and legs, while applying some medigel. I don't want them to die after all.

''Let's talk about revenge shall we?'' i warp the next one as i cut off this one's tongue.

''Torfan was retaliation for Elysium, and i did what i had to do you took revenge by enslaving my soldiers and their families, killing those who resisted. And now it's time i've shown you a thing or two about revenge. I'm going to help you transform into the maggots you are, and then i'll ship you to your homeworld with a a lebel on your chest characterising you as a slaver.'' I cut as i talk, my voice barely a whisper, cold, hissing, oozing my hate into their ears.

Soon i'm done with the others, now their leader's tries to be brave, but when i warp him and draw closer with the blade he screams too... The others watch in mute terror, as i do to him what i did to them only at a much slower pace, and as i cut i tell them of Torfan, or the fighting, of the terror in their eyes tell me that i'm done. The silent scream, the plea for no, these sacks of bones won't die untill they have been used for the messengers that they i finish my work i load them on a cart and head towards the place Alenko told me. I was so busy i didn't notice what he said untill now.

I reach the place where their vessel is docked and a very shocked Alenko is staring at the cart.

'' What have you done Shepard?'' Kaidan is so stricken by the sight he didn't call me by rank as usuall.

'' they might also prove usefull in other ways''.I reply coldly ''Commander, this is monstrous, inhuman..'' Kaidan is whispering his disbelief taking hold of him Here we go, morality time.

''Spare me your morals Alenko''.i snap back

''What do morals have to do with this?'' His question is asked with all the innocence of a child.

''Everything morals, or rather,the morals you have been taught are know that any human is capable of something like this'' I speak calmly, trying not to escalate things.

''No, humans are not monsters''he continues,refusing to believe what he sees.

I stop unloading, and sit at the edge of the cart, facing him.

''Morals are a shifting thing Alenko, they change with the passage of time, conditioned as they are by our illusion that we are civilized,or whatever else is the prevailant way of i've done here would've been harsh at the Medieval , not we consider it monstrous now because we consider ourselves civilised...If we were civilised we wouldn't have wars over beliefs with a bodycount of several tens of millions,we wouldn't have destroyed cities to force the end of a war.''A pause to give him time to understand what i've said.

''Besides this is revenge, and these maggots will serve as messangers to those four-eyed it will anger them enough to openly provoke the Alliance,in which case the slaver issue will be dealt with permanently.''I continue,trying to explain my motives.

Alenko stares open mouthed, his mind unable to register all of he looks apologetically at me, as if feeling sorry. perhaps it's time to shed some light into his justifications.

''Alenko, you are a proffessional soldier, serving the Alliance on the battlefield, correct?''I ask before he can say anything

''Yes''his reply is as straightforward as i'd thought.

''And you fight and kill those whom they order you to kill?''i continue, although he stares, not understanding why i ask the obvious.

''Yes'' His tone suggests that he's curious to where i'm going with this.

Time to show him

''The men we've killed , if not all of them have loved ones, family who await their return, and they will mourn their death, their lives will be filled with sorrow, grief and pain, because we killed them today.''

''But they chose to be guards here''Again he replies apologetically...

''And you chose to kill them'' I say, not hiding my ire over his refusal to think.

''Whether you like it or not, Kaidan, you are a herald of sorrow, pain and time you hear the dying scream of someone you've killed, you've added a bit of misery in the same applies to all who have, do,and will bear arms, regardless of how you justify means that you are not that better than i, thus you are unfit to judge my actions''

''But, But''he blurts

He's unable to speak, almost when you shatter someone's number one why most people don't like me.

''What i've done here, what i've done at Torfan is because i know who i am and what i do and how many have been spared the horrors of slavery, of not having to wait for a raid, simply because i did what i did at here.'' I say it as it is.A fact.I'm not trying to give any sort of excuses and i want him to understand it.

''We do this so that others won't have inflict pain, bring misery, because we can bear we try.I do what i do simply because i can and because it has to be done.I am the ruthless cold-hearted bastard, because i can be,so that everyone else can sleep peacefully.'' Weird,i never thought i'd tell this to anyone.

Kaidan finally raises his voice in another question, propably his last

''What about your concience? Don't you feel guilt?''

How predictable can you get? A question like that , in a time like this merits an honest answer

''I feel no guilt,for it is something we learn in order to for my concience,i doubt i have,since concience and guilt go hand in hand'' He hangs his head and goes to prepeare the Batarian craft for departure, not once looking at the passengers.

The craft is gone with it's cargo,and we return to the is his usuall silent self, but looks at me as if he's is silent too, hasn't raised his head since we left the compound.I'll let him think on what i've said, but i'm strong can denial be?


End file.
